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Crochet Hook Sizes

Submitted by Asbjörn on Thu, 2008-01-24 17:37

I want to get a nice looking crochet hook for picking up dropped stitches etc. and I was looking at these Susanne Ebony Crochet Hooks on the WEBS Website and I was wondering what size I should get. I'm not interested in learning to crochet so I don't want a bunch of them, is there a good, general size suitable for a knitter? Also, I don't understand the numeric sizes of these, I thought crochet hooks were listed by letters (I have been told that size "H" is a good general purpose size). I was also considering the Dentist's Tool from Patternworks
but the ebony hooks are so much more alluring.

It really depends on the size of yarn you like to work with. If you are knitting mostly with DK, worsted and bulky something in the j-i range will work. If you are using finer yarn, for say socks, you would want a smaller hook like an a-b. If the hook is too big, you will stretch out the sts and if it is too small you will get frustrated splitting the stitches i.e. only able to get part of the plys into the hook to pull through. As for hook sizing, standard hooks are sized a-q with the smallest a and largest q; then for "steel" hooks they are numbered from 0-16 with 0 the largest and 16 the smallest and yes a 0 is one size smaller than a. A general rule of thumb for hook/needle comparison, a size 8 needle is the same mm as an H hook so you can easily go up or down from there...9=I, 10=J etc or 7=G, 6=E etc. Also another tool that is very good for picking up sts are the latch tools that machine knitters use, they come in 3 sizes, standard, mid-gauge and bulky. I you are interested in these and connot find any, let me know, I can hook you up.

So a size 5 (in the case of the ebony needles) would be suitable for worsted, DK, and Bulky? I looked on a conversion chart and it says that 5.0=H. On the other hand, the Dentist's Tool I mentioned is a b size so I suppose my answer would be to get both. As for the latch tool you mentioned, I may very well have one as (somewhere in our attic), there is a knitting machine that belonged to Tom's mom. I'll have to give that a try. Thanks.
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I agree with HuskerChub, H is a good one to get for general knitting, when I made my daughter's sweater (she promised me a picture) I got an N hook for the bulky yarn used in it. For socks I'm planning to get the dentist's tool. I think with those 3 sizes I can get by without getting frustrated.

Although I have a few crochet hooks in different sizes in my knitting tool kit, I seem to always grab the dentist's tool. I use both ends for (obviously) different purposes. I can highly recommend the purchase of one.

Knit like the wind!

Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn't try it on. ~Billy Connolly

It does seem to be the type of thing for which one can find multiple uses. I think I'll have to get one. Also, do you find it useful for most yarn weights or is it more useful with finer weight yarns?
_____________________________http://fiberofmybeing.blogspot.com/

In all honesty, I've never met a crochet hook which liked me. I'm all thumbs when I use one, even when it's just a one-stitch repair so I wonder if the size even matters in my case. I use the dental tool for up to 4 ply knitting wools. If I'm doing a shoulder seam bind-off, instead of knitting it I'll use a crochet hook. In that situation, because of all the stitches to work, I'll use a larger size hook. I use the pointy end of the dental tool when I have to ladder-down to repair something a row back. It works nicely to separate the strands of wool from the actual stitch. It is also useful when evening-up stitches in stranded knitting.

Knit like the wind!

Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cozy, doesn't try it on. ~Billy Connolly

I use a small hook for just about everything. It is a 2.5 mm size. If you are just going to use it to pick up dropped stitches or correct mistakes, this size can be used for everything from lace weight to bulky. I had mistakenly thought that you needed a big hook to hook up bulky or ww weight wool but this little one does the trick better than a big one since it is less bulky. I always crochet steeks with Shetland wool and it is perfect for that as well. I would recommend this one to start out with and if you find you need bigger ones as well you can always get them. I don't use another hook but this one.

My husband crochets. So, I just grab whatever hook seems to be the right size for what I need. I know that didn't help, but I just felt like sharing! He prefers anything from "G" to "J" as good general purpose hooks.